2013 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Report: South Africa

(WineSpectator) - Ready to taste the first wines of 2013? While vines are just flowering in Europe and North America, the Southern Hemisphere has picked, crushed and fermented this year's crop. South African grapegrowers enjoyed a wet winter, meaning healthy yields, followed by a dry, warm summer. But rain during harvest made picking anxious at times.

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming vintage. Check out Wednesday's report on Australia and New Zealand and Thursday's on Argentina and Chile

South Africa

The good news: South Africa's 2013 harvest has drawn praise from most producers, with a strong start and finish to the growing season

The bad news: A bit of rain and humidity mid-harvest forced some producers to scramble for proper canopy management and gamble, successfully, on better weather late

Picking started: February

Promising grapes: Early-ripening whites, including Chardonnay, were strong, while late-ripening red Bordeaux varieties were also promising, but in a more elegant style

Analysis: “The 2013 vintage was without a doubt one of the most challenging yet rewarding vintages of the past few years,” said Jean Smit, winemaker at Boekenhoutskloof, a top Cabernet, Sémillon and Syrah producer located in the Franschhoek Valley. “Superb winter and spring conditions set the stage. But this was followed by occasional humid conditions in February and March which meant that canopy management before veraison was the key to healthy fruit.”